Term is usually referred to as temporary life insurance, meaning you only have life insurance protection for a specific number of years. If you outlive the term (duration) of your term life insurance policy, your life insurance coverage expires.
If you die during the term of your term life policy, your beneficiary receives the death benefit from your term policy, subject to any exclusions in the policy.
Usually, life insurance proceeds are paid free from federal income tax.
There are different types of "term" life insurance, including level term, decreasing term, return of premium term life insurance, and term life insurance with no exam required, among others.
The most popular type of term life plan is level term life insurance which provides coverage for a period of 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years. With level term life your premiums are level each year and the amount of life insurance coverage you have remains the same each year throughout the entire term of your life insurance policy.
Term life insurance is not an investment, it is pure life insurance protection and builds no cash value inside the policy.
Learn more about how term life insurance works and get your term life quote comparisons online today.